How to rehydrate dried-up alcohol specimens after 40 years
Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2023 10:15 am
I'd like to rehydrate thousands of insect specimens I put in ethanol about 40 years ago (most of the common Orders). Many vials (most? all?--I haven't checked recently) have lost all their alcohol so the insects will have been dry and brittle for years. Any special advice for specimens with this history? I've wondered about adding some glycerol to perhaps 70% ethanol and using that mix. I'd just like to make them supple enough to safely handle, to try to get some more of them identified. Any thoughts? Thanks much for any advice.